


Celebration

by androgynousclintbarton



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:07:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22035289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/androgynousclintbarton/pseuds/androgynousclintbarton
Summary: Kakashi's excited to find out about the latest batch of Jonin promotions, and he may have shopped a little early for his best friend's gift
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai | Might Guy
Comments: 3
Kudos: 69
Collections: KakaGai Week 2019 entries





	Celebration

The village was bustling with energy. Apparently the promotions had finally been decided a week after the Jonin exams had taken place, which was a little annoying in Kakashi's opinion. He had been told the day after his exams that he was being.promoted, why did the others have to wait so long?

That wasn't his main concern though. He wanted to get to the hokage's residence where the promotions would have finally been posted. After all, being promoted to Jonin was a big deal. Bigger than being promoted to chunin ever was. Everyone wanted to know who they had to get gifts for without their friend telling them that they had in fact been promoted. It would be awkward to get a gift for someone who had failed to receive the promotion after all. 

Kakashi was sure he wasn't wrong about getting his gift early though. He had seen the Jonin exams for himself. Sure, it took a little convincing to get the time off from Anbu missions, but he had been adamant about it. He had to see the exams for him. 

He had to be there when Gai had his fights. He'd made a promise to his friend that he would be, and even if he had wanted to hide somewhere far away to watch the tests and battles he had made sure Gai always spotted him. It wouldn't do any good to be there if Gai wasn't aware of his presence. 

Only an idiot would refuse to promote Gai, in his opinion. He had shown his capabilities as a leader during the team up battle with Ebisu, and his skills as a shinobi had far surpassed that of what others thought he was capable of years ago. 

Thus, it only made sense for Kakashi to get a gift for his friend in celebration of his promotion.

Finally the hokage's residence came into view, which meant he didn't have far to go to see the results he was looking for. 

"Kakashi!" His feet came to a halt on the next roof. There was no need to question who was calling out to him, Genma's voice was easy to pick up on among all of his old classmates. "Want me to save you a trip?"

One eyebrow arched upwards in intrigue. It would be nice to not have to finish his run to the Hokage's residence and he would definitely appreciate not having to bust through the crowd that was most likely formed around the promotions postings. 

"I can practically feel the anticipation dripping off of you," he knew the words were meant as a jab. The only person who ever seemed to know exactly what he was thinking emotionally was Gai. Everyone either guessed or just assumed he never felt any emotions, which was his goal at the end of the day. To be unreadable to others. "Our team is on its way to celebrate."

Celebrate? That meant at least one of them had gotten the promotion, if not all of them. The last scenario made more sense in Kakashi's mind though. Ebisu, Genma and Gai had all proven themselves capable of leading a team and being skilled shinobi in their rights. 

Still, that comment hadn't given him the exact info he was looking for. It seemed like he was going to have to press Genma for more details. 

"If you're going to celebrate…" he brought a hand up to his chin and gave himself a moment to look like he was thinking. Genma didn't seem to buy it though, returning the gesture with a glare "well in that case it must be Ebisu who got the promotion."

"Just because Gai and Ebisu fall for your shit doesn't mean i will," Genma protested, punching Kakashi in the arm for emphasis "all of us got the promotion smart ass, but we both know you figured that out already."

Well, there went his fun. But at least he had his answer now. Gai had gotten the promotion just like he expected and he hadn't acted too early in getting a present. 

"I'm sure Gai would like it if you came to the celebration," Genma rolled his eyes when Kakashi gave him a skeptical look "don't act surprised. You know as well as the rest of us he'd love it if you showed up."

True. Gai always seemed to be excited when Kakashi made an appearance to one of their get togethers. Still, he had different plans for celebrating with his friend. 

"Maybe next time," he waved a dismissive hand "I'll catch up with you all later. I have something else i have to do first." 

"Of course you do," Genma slapped a hand on his back, smiling when Kakashi glared back at him "try not to overdo it. Gai hardly needs to ego boost."

With that said Genma disappeared from his side, leaving him standing there on a lonely roof in the middle of Konoha.

He had a lot of work to do, but thankfully Choza Senpai was known for keeping his team out for hours when it comes to celebrations.

* * *

The smell of curry filled Gai's tiny apartment. A relaxing scent that he hadn't expected to return home to, especially after a long dinner out with his team. Choza Sensei had certainly made sure they all had enough to eat, though Genma had been very clear that Gai shouldn't be filling himself up too much at dinner. 

Choza Sensei seemed to catch on to what his team mate was saying early on, suggesting that Gai skip out on desert for the night. He had been a little confused at the time, but his team's odd behaviours were starting to make a little more sense.

The only problem was that he had no idea who had found their way into his apartment to cook such a delicious smelling meal. His whole team had been with him for the last few hours, and there were few others who would take the time out of their day to cook Gai's favorite food.

If his Papa was still alive he would suspect him, but it was impossible for a dead man to make food for him. 

"Hello?" He stepped into the small kitchen in his apartment, a smile pulling at his lips when he saw a familiar tuff of silver hair standing near small two person dinner table. "Kakashi…"

His friend looked up upon hearing his name, his eyes soft as he looked at Gai. "You're home earlier than i thought you'd be." He commented as he continued to set the table. 

"Choza Sensei told me I should head home as soon as we were done with our celebrations." Gai explained "apparently he knew something was going on when Genma tried to stop me from stuffing myself full at dinner."

He didn't need to ask Kakashi what he was thinking when he let out a fond sigh. There were probably millions of ideas running through his head on how best to thank Genma for the interference. 

"So…" His eyes focused on a small box that Kakashi had put in the middle of the dinner table, unable to drag themselves away as he examined the soft gold decorations of the box. "What is all of this?"

When Kakashi looked up at him in confusion he waved a hand towards the table, set out with two plates of curry, cutlery and a beautiful box as the centerpiece of it all. 

"Oh!" Kakashi straightened himself out and brought a hand up to settle in the soft silver strands of his hair "i just thought it might be nice if we celebrate."

"And Genma didn't invite you to join our team?" That couldn't be the case. Genma knew as well as Gai that Choza Sensei had an open invitation to Kakashi for all of their team activities. It had been that way since shortly after their team was formed and shortly after Choza Sensei realized that Kakashi was his friend. 

"He did," Kakashi assured him "but I just thought that maybe…" whatever was supposed to come next failed to leave Kakashi's mouth, and Gai could see a small hint of a blush crawling up the back of the other boys neck. 

Of course Kakashi wanted to celebrate in privacy. Even though he had learned to accept others affections and friendships because of Minati Sensei's guidance he was still a very closed off and shy man. He always preferred to do things with less people and in less crowded places if he could. 

"Well," Gai's feet moved swiftly, guiding him to Kakashi's side "is this about the exam?"

"Did you think it was about something else?" Kakashi gave him an unimpressed look "of course it's about the exam. I've been waiting all week for the results."

"Knowing you, you had probably decided the results a week ago after the final fight." Gai smiled playfully. "You never did tell me though. How did I do?"

Kakashi took a minute to think it over, doing what Gai could only assume was finding the right way to explain exactly what he had thought of Gai's performance during the Jonin exams. 

"Well, your ability to dodge an attack could really do with some work," he narrowed his eyes in annoyance. Praise was definitely not Kakashi's strong suit. "But you showed your skills as a team leader in the first exam when you lead Ebisu and Genma through how to get up the mountainside the fastest and even managed to show the usefulness of taijutsu in such a situation compared to ninjutsu." Well at least that was better "and your last fight was impressive. You took down your enemy by recognizing their weakness' and openings from their fight with Genma and then used them perfectly to secure victory."

"So ultimately you thought…" Gai pushed for more of an explanation or at least some sort of emotional response to his efforts.

"You did awesome," Kakashi clarified "it was obvious you were going to get the promotion." 

There it was. The warm feeling in his belly that he always looked forward to when Kakashi had something nice to say. 

"Well, are you going to sit down?" Kakashi reached out and gave him a playful poke in the side. 

"Of course!" He moved towards the nearest chair and took his seat, smiling when he saw Kakashi taking the seat across from him "you made curry?"

"Well it is a celebration for you," Kakashi nodded "obviously I should make something you like."

"Well, I guess I can accept some non spicy curry this time," he chuckled fondly "i wouldn't want to see you choking to death on all that heat." 

"I appreciate the concern." Kakashi responded with a roll of his eyes "but I did add some spices to your plate."

Oh! Well that was a pleasant surprise. He did prefer his curry spicy after. 

"Well," Kakashi settled into his spot and met Gai's eye as he reached up and slowly started to remove his mask. 

Gai never did remember a face, and today was no different. Though in this case he sort of appreciated his terrible memory. Seeing that beautiful face being revealed to him all over again was always a nice surprise. His favorite sight, if he did say so himself. 

"Would you stop staring?" A blush crept up the back of his neck when he realized that Kakashi was staring directly at him, "it's just a face." 

"I know that," Gai smiled fondly "but still, I like seeing it. You never take off your mask for anyone else. Even when you eat in front of my team you keep your mask on." 

"I don't like showing my face," Kakashi whispered "not that it really matters. They don't care what I look like." 

Oh, how wrong his friend was. Everyone wanted to know what that face looked like, always hidden away. Forever a secret. Not one person in the village didn't wonder what Kakashi actually looked like, and Gai felt special whenever he got to see his friend take off his mask. One of a select few who got to see the true face of Kakashi Hatake. 

"Just eat, Gai," Kakashi sighed in defeat. "Before it gets cold." 

Doing as he was told, Gai happily dug into the curry in front of him and sighed when a beautiful mixture of flavours hit his tongue. 

Kakashi really was one of Konoha's best and brightest and he continued to show it in different fantastic ways every day. 

* * *

Once they had finished dinner Kakashi wasted no time in collecting the dirty plates and heading to the sink to take care of them, leaving Gai with little more to do than stair at the box that still sat in the middle of the table. 

"You can open it you know," he ducked his head, a little embarrassed that he had been caught looking "it's for you Gai, you're allowed to see what it is."

"For ...me?" He frowned. Kakashi had never gotten him a gift before. Even for Gai's birthday he preferred to spend time with him instead of getting a gift, and Gai liked it that way. He enjoyed Kakashi's company more than anything. 

"It's tradition," Kakashi explained "whenever someone is promoted to Jonin you get them a gift. Don't tell me your team didn't get you something."

Well, that wasn't true. Choza Sensei's gift had been a night out on his dime to celebrate all of their promotions, and he was certain Ebisu and Genma had the same plan as him. To spend the next day or two finding the perfect congratulations gift for their teammate. They had only found out today about their promotions after all. 

Really, it made no sense that Kakashi already had a gift. He didn't seem the type of person to buy something without putting thought into it, especially since he so rarely spent time getting gifts at all. 

That could only mean…

A fond smile pulled at his lips. Kakashi had made up his mind about what the results of the exam would be long before the Hokage had even decided. It was probably the closest Gai had ever gotten to verbal recognition of his skills from his Rival. 

Well, with permission given he had no reason not to examine the contents of the box anymore. Reaching out he picked the box up off of the table and pulled it towards him, his thumb running over some of the soft golden lines on the outside as he set it down. 

"This doesn't look like something you got here in Konoha." He commented as his fingers continued to trace the golden lines. 

"Possibly because i didn't," Kakashi agreed "after the exam's finished Lord Third sent me on a mission to the land of wind. I saw that in a small village in the middle of my mission." 

"Oh, the land of wind?" His smile only grew. Something from one of the other lands was bound to be amazing. "I love it already."

"Open it before you say that," Kakashi insisted "I want to know what you think of the present not what you think of where it came from." 

Alright, the point was made. Doing as he was told Gai moved his hands up to the lid and carefully lifted it up, his eyes going wide as the present inside became visible.

Inside sat a beautiful set of nunchucks. The outside was decorated beautifully with what looked like a dragon scale style with a dragon's head carved into each of the handles base. Honestly, the fact that Kakashi had been able to find something so gorgeous was astounding in his opinion. 

"Kakashi…" he was a little surprised to find his friend staring back at him when he looked up from the gift "this…"

"I honestly can't tell if you like it or hate it," Kakashi frowned, his eyes obviously searching for a clue about Gai's feelings. "Did i do this right? I can try again."

Gai bolted from his spot, his arms coming down around Kakashi's shoulders and pulling him into a strong hug. 

"I love it," he whispered against his friend's hair, giggling when some of the soft silver strands tickled his nose. "It's the best gift ever."

"Well, I really doubt that," Kakashi protested even as Gai continued to hold him in a crushing hug "though i am glad you like it."

He hated it when Kakashi doubted himself like this "I mean it Kakashi," he whispered "i love them. They're perfect."

"Well, I'm glad that you like them." He could feel Kakashi brushing his nose against his neck, his subtle way of stealing a sniff of Gài. He still wasn't sure why exactly Kakashi did that, but it was kind of nice. He had never seen the other boy do it with anyone else. "The shop keeper said they were called Soshuga."

"They're the most beautiful nunchucks i've ever seen." Gai beamed "though i'll have to be careful about when I use them. Only the most important missions deserve such extravagant weapons." 

"Well, whoever earns your rage and gets those to the face is a poor bastard." Kakashi chuckled against his shoulder "i...i should finish the dishes though. I'm likely to have a mission in the morning so it's probably smart to head back to my apartment soon"

That didn't sound fun. In fact, it left Gai with an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn't want Kakashi to leave, especially if he was going to have a mission in the morning. Who knew when the next time he saw him would be.

"You know," he tightened his hug a little more, noticing that Kakashi wasn't trying to make an escape at all. "You could stay over instead. I mean, who knows when the next time I'll see you is and even if you do head home we both know you're not going to bed any time soon."

He knew that for a fact. He'd been on a few missions with Kakashi, and at least two of them were after Rin's death. Kakashi never slept if he could help it, only passing out when he was too tired to keep going or when he had someone he trusted to curl up against.

And finding that special trusted person seemed to be hard for his friend. Gai had almost never seen Kakashi go to anyone's side but his own. 

Though, if he was being truthful he kind of like it that way. Knowing that Kakashi trusted him enough to protect him while he slept. 

"I don't want to get in the way. " Kakashi finally spoke up, his breath brushing against Gai's neck. 

"You know that's never going to be the case," Gai promised as his fingers curled into the fabric of Kakashi's uniform shirt "you're always welcome here. And you'll never be in the way." 

Kakashi seemed to think about it for a moment as he buried his nose into his neck. A sign that he was tired if Gai was reading it correctly. Kakashi rarely let his guard down so much when he was awake and alert, even with him. 

"Come on," Gai insisted "we can stay up a bit longer and play some Shogi."

"I hate shogi," even as he spoke Kakashi chuckled fondly. He definitely hated the game, preferring never to play it and even turning down shikaku's attempts to drag him into a game every once in a while, but he had never turned down a chance to play Gai. He had after all, been the one to buy Gai his shogi set when he expressed an interest in learning the game himself. "But fine. We can play a round i guess."

The moment that Kakashi's shoulder relaxed Gai knew he had won. 

"I'll go get the game," he smiled triumphantly and pulled away from the hug "and we can have some tea while we play. Your favorite is in the cupboard."

He didn't wait for Kakashi's response, instead heading straight for the living room to collect his board and leaving Kakashi to find the tea. 

It was going to be a long night now that he had invited Kakashi to stay over the night, but he had a feeling it would be worth it. It was rare for him to have any time to spend with his friend these days after all. 


End file.
